


It's Not Easy

by Hollie47



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27876077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollie47/pseuds/Hollie47
Summary: Mako and Minako are attacked by a being not from this world and Mako gets injured.  Minako takes her home and tends to her wounds and tries her best to be there for her.
Relationships: Aino Minako/Kino Makoto
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

Jumping out of the way as a purple six foot humanoid who appeared to be from another galaxy took a swing at them, Sailor Venus quickly dodged the attack and looked over to Sailor Jupiter who had also just missed being hit by its long, spiked arm that had shot out at them. Checking her surroundings, Sailor Venus ran at the alien and tried to draw its attention so they could attack it from either side. Watching as a flash of purple darted across the cracked concrete of the ground, almost as if it disappeared, Sailor Venus lost sight of the alien for just a moment. Trying to locate the alien’s new location, she spotted the creatures back to her as it sent out another attack on Sailor Jupiter who had been backed into a corner. Hearing the taller girl scream out in pain and fall to the hard ground, Sailor Venus felt her heart race as she quickly sent out an attack, watching as her Crescent Beam Shower engulfed the creature, leaving no sign of it behind.

“Who or what the hell was that?” Mako asked, clutching her upper arm where the creature had struck her, a trickle of blood making its way between her fingers.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Minako replied, going over to Mako and checking out the damage to her arm. “Did you already transform back?” she asked, noticing the taller girl was in her civilian clothing.

“The second that creature’s arm hit me I felt something pierced my skin and all I felt after that was a wave of blinding pain and then when I fell to the ground I wasn’t Sailor Jupiter anymore,” Mako replied, wincing as she felt Minako poking around the area on her arm.

“That’s doesn’t sound good at all, we’ll have to see if Luna or Artemis know anything about it, until then we should get your arm wrapped up as the gash isn’t too large but the bleeding isn’t stopping,” Minako responded, quickly pulling out her clean handkerchief and wrapping it around the wound, making sure it wasn’t too tight.

“I have a first aid kit back at my apartment and we’re only a few minutes away,” Mako said as she tried to stand up, stumbling a little as she reached out for the wall she was near. “Okay, I think I’m a little dizzy too, I don’t like this,” she added, as Minako came over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Minako said, trying to hide the concerned look on her face as she began to head back to the apartment, a place she had gotten used to recently as she seemed to be spending all her time there with the taller girl.

“Sailor Venus to my rescue,” Mako said, poking Minako in the side, reminding her she still hadn’t transformed back yet.

“Oh crap.” Heading into an alleyway between two buildings so she wouldn’t be seen, Minako quickly transformed back and checked herself over to make sure she was definitely back into her normal clothing. “Let’s get going, we don’t want to be out here any longer than we need to.”

Heading down the alley way and onto the street, they tried not to draw any attention to themselves as they walked down it as quickly as they could. Mako’s arm was still bleeding and the white handkerchief was turning red and it was becoming more noticeable as each minute passed. Seeing a group of children up ahead, playing ball on a vacant lot, they crossed the road onto the side with a dirt path and hurried past the small group, not looking when one of the kids called out to them. 

“I’m starting to feel more and more lightheaded,” Mako said, stopping for a moment so she could take a few deep breaths in as she leaned on Minako a little more, knowing she had her back.

“I can see your apartment from here; we’ll be there in two minutes. Do you think you’ll be able to make it? Lean on me as much as you need to,” Mina said, her concern and worry growing as each second passed by. Mako was usually the tough one and seeing her like this was very concerning.

“I think I can with your help. I can push through it I think,” Mako replied, leaning a little more of her weight onto Minako as the girl held her tightly, supporting her, as they walked the five streets to the apartment building.

Stopping at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, Mako rested her head on Minako’s shoulder and took a few deep breaths in before they navigated the stairs and made it to the front door. Retrieving the keys from Mako’s pocket and opening the door, they quickly headed inside and Minako helped Mako onto the couch, making sure she was comfortable.

Throwing they keys onto the kitchen table, Minako headed to the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit from under the sink. Checking it had everything she needed inside; she headed back to the living room and placed the kit on the coffee table and opened it. 

Sitting down next to Mako, Minako pulled the latex gloves out of the first aid kit and put them on. Gently removing the handkerchief, Minako wiped away the blood that was oozing out of the wound and down Mako’s arm to see if she could get a better look at the injury. Noticing a small golden barb embedded in the wound, she pulled the tweezers out and looked to Mako. “There seems to be a barb or something in the wound, I need to remove as I believe it’s not letting the area stop bleeding. I’m sorry Mako but this may hurt a little.”

“Just do it, Mina, I trust you, what’s the worst that can happen?” Mako responded, wanting to get it over with as every second that passed, she felt worse and worse and was pretty sure she was close to passing out.

“I don’t want to think about anything worse happening,” Minako replied, opening an alcohol wipe and cleaning the area as best she could. Noticing Mako biting her bottom lip and hissing under her breath, Minako knew that the next step would hurt even more and she felt bad about being the one to cause the pain but it had to be done. 

Holding the tweezers steadily with one hand, Minako used her other hand to hold the wound open so she could see the golden barb buried inside. Clasping the tip of it with the tweezers she slowly pulled it out, watching as the small barbs attached to the main barb didn’t break off inside of the wound. Hearing Mako whimper softly at the pain, Minako took a second to look at the other girl. Mako’s eyes were clenched shut and her hand was in a tight fist. Concentrating her attention back on the barb, Minako felt it get harder to move, like it was getting stuck. Rotating the barb slightly, it came out in what looked like one piece.

“It’s out, Mako, it’s okay,” Minako said, noticing the very small hint of a tear in Mako’s eye as she gently rubbed the girl’s shoulder for a moment.

“Thank you, Mina,” Mako replied, turning to see the barb they just removed from her arm. It was about three centimetres long with about twenty or so smaller barbs attached to it.

“It looks like nothing broke off, thankfully. Once I put this in a vial I’ll patch you up. Do you feel any better now?” Mina asked, noticing that the girl didn’t look all that great.

“I feel kind of faint and still dizzy,” Mako replied, watching Minako cap the vial containing the barb.

“Once you’re patched up I’ll see if Artemis or Luna happen to know anything about the creature and what it does,” Minako said as she changed her gloves.

“Okay, sounds like a plan,” Mako replied, not really feeling up to saying much as she felt exhausted.

Getting to work, Minako cleaned the wound and surrounding area, making sure she wiped away all traces of blood on Mako’s arm. Opening up a butterfly stitch, she placed it over the wound and added another two, one on either side to make sure it held the wound closed. Placing a dressing over the wound and butterfly stitches, Minako added a bandage to the area to help to apply pressure to the area to help stop the bleeding.

“The bleeding seems to have slowed down a little but I’m getting a little worried that it still hasn’t stopped yet,” Minako said, voicing her concern.

“I really haven’t been physically injured this badly before; I’m usually able to miss most attacks. I don’t know how I didn’t see it coming. One minute it was there and the next it was gone, I didn’t even see its attack coming,” Mako replied, beating herself up slightly.

“The same thing happened with me too, it was there then gone. When I next saw it you were on the ground. I managed to hit it with my Crescent Beam but it just disappeared without anything happening,” Minako responded as she packed up the first aid kit.

“Hopefully it’s gone and if it’s not I’ll be ready for next time,” Mako said, changing position on the couch to get more comfortable.

“You’re starting to look a little worse, Mako, you seem very pale,” Minako observed, moving off the couch and helping Mako to lie down.

“I should be fine soon enough,” Mako replied, not fighting Minako on being moved as it was more comfortable. “I think I hear something at the door or window, like a soft tap, but that could just be my imagination.”

“It’s not your imagination, I heard it too, give me a second,” Minako said, getting up and going to the front door and opening it slightly. “Hi Luna.”

“Hello Minako, would you or Mako happen to know where Usagi is?” Luna asked, entering the apartment.

“We have no idea, sorry Luna. We were just about to call you and Artemis to see if you could help us with something. On the way home from studying at the library Mako and I got attacked by some creature and Mako got injured and now she isn’t feeling well,” Minako explained, walking over to the couch where Mako was lying down.

“Mako, you don’t look good at all,” Luna said, jumping onto the armrest of the couch. “What did this creature look like?”

“Big, purple, kind of weird,” Mako replied, yawning.

“It was humanoid in shape, purple in colour with short golden hair. When it went to attack it seemed to disappear for a second or two and then its arm would extend into like a weird rope thing and shoot out at us. Mako got hit by it just before I used my attack on it and it vanished into thin air without a sound,” Minako added, picking the vial up from the table. “I pulled this barb thing out of the wound on Mako’s arm. The wound itself isn’t that big but it’s bleeding a lot. I think it has stopped a little since removing this but Mako’s not looking good at all and I’m worried.”

Taking a few seconds to examine the barb inside of the vial, Luna sat up straight on the coffee table as Minako sat down at the end of the couch. “I have heard of this creature before, they were once used as drones by an alien race that perished a millennia ago. Some of the creatures were stuck in a time bubble and they must have figured a way out. If I recall correctly they were called the Vash and the barbs that they inject into their opponents released an enzyme that stops them from using their powers or in our case it will stop Mako from transforming into Sailor Jupiter. If you try before the enzyme clears your system you’ll be in agonising pain for hours. Once removed it should take five to seven days to be completely gone. All I can suggest is get some rest, keep your fluids up, and change the wound dressing every six hours and at the first sign something doesn’t look right call both Artemis and I and we’ll do some research just in case.” Taking a second to let the information process, Luna looked between the two girls.

“So, I won’t be able to transform for the next week?” Mako asked, making sure she heard things clearly.

“That is correct. You need to rest and get your strength back so you’ll be ready for action once more. From what I can see Minako has done a good job taking care of you so far so I will leave you in her capable hands while I go do some research and fill in the others. Will you two be okay if I leave?”

“We’ll be fine, Luna. If you’re lucky Usagi will already be at the arcade so you won’t have to look far. If you see Artemis can you tell him where I am, please?” Minako replied, getting up and following Luna to the door.

“Of course; if anything pops up don’t hesitate to call,” Luna responded, exiting the apartment.

Closing the front door and clicking the lock, Minako went over to the kitchen and got two glasses of water. Handing one to Mako, she made sure the younger girl had something to drink before setting both glasses down on the coffee table.

“If you have other stuff to do I’ll be fine on my own,” Mako said, giving Minako the chance to leave.

“I’m not going anywhere, you’re injured and I want to take care of you. You mean a lot to me and I want to be here for you,” Minako replied, hoping she wasn’t scaring Mako off.

“I would really like you here,” Mako said while trying to stifle a yawn.

“You heard Luna, you need to rest, let’s get you into bed,” Minako said, standing up and helping Mako off the couch.

“I think standing up doesn’t go well with whatever enzyme that Vash got me with,” Mako said, leaning heavily on Minako as they walked the short way to the bedroom. Sitting on the side of the bed, Mako kicked her shoes off and got under the covers. Watching as Minako took over, she felt herself being tucked into the bed. Feeling the sleep beginning to take over, she felt warm lips gently press against her forehead before she fell into a restless sleep, unable to shake the nightmares.


	2. Chapter 2

Sitting down on the soft couch with a plastic bag in her hand, Minako started to clean up the coffee table, removing the rubbish that was left over from patching Mako up. Throwing it all into the bag, she tied it up and put it next to the bin, knowing she could add to it when they changed the bandage next. Grabbing the empty glasses off the coffee table she took them into the kitchen and washed the small pile of dishes, feeling the hot water run over her soapy hands as she hoped for a distraction to keep her mind off what happened to Mako.

Picking up an interesting book from the bookcase, Minako flipped it open to the first page and started to read it. She was going to keep herself busy by cleaning the apartment but when she had a good look around it was mostly clean and really didn’t need much more done to it. Instead she decided to get in some quality reading as another distraction, hoping it would help.

After an hour or so passed, Minako put the book down, thinking she heard something. Only having to wait a few more seconds she heard the sound again, this time coming from the bedroom. Placing the book down on the coffee table, Minako got up and headed towards the bedroom, looking inside of the room, checking on Mako.

Seeing Mako tossing and turning in a fitful sleep, the covers kicked to the end of the bed, Minako went over to the bed and sat down on the edge and gently placed a hand on Mako’s arm. Caressing the taller girl’s bare skin with her thumb, Minako noticed that she was clammy and covered in a thin layer of sweat. Heading into the bathroom, she grabbed a face washer and let the cool water from the tap run over it, wringing it out before she went back into the bedroom and started to gently wipe away the sweat on Mako’s face.

Trying to keep Mako calm, Minako whispered soothing nothings to her as she placed the cool face washer on Mako’s forehead, hoping it would help bring her temperature down. Holding Mako’s hand in her own, Minako took a minute to study Mako’s face. A few strands of her long brown hair were stuck to the side of her face framing her jawline; her thin lips were pressed together tightly as a few beads of sweat gathered on her upper lip. Mako’s eyes were tightly shut, and her face was very pale, she was looking worse than she did before she went to lie down.

Leaving the bedroom, Minako took one last look back and went and sat on the couch and flipped open her communicator. “Usagi are you there? Is Luna or Artemis with you?”

“Hey Minako, I’m here, I’m with Luna and we are at Control. What’s up?”

“I’m guessing Luna filled you in on what happened with Mako and the Vash so I was wondering if the enzyme had any side effects. Mako is looking a little worse than earlier and even though she’s asleep she doesn’t seem to be feeling any better. She’s tossing and turning and I think she may be in pain, I’m starting to get worried,” Minako explained hoping there was something she could do to help the other girl feel more comfortable.

“Minako, hello, it’s Luna. I’ve done some research with Usagi’s help and sometimes there can be a negative side effect that lasts for the first ten to twelve hours. I’m still doing some research but what I have found is an increase in body temperature, and it can cause realistic nightmares, and it makes the victim feel increasingly weak all over. Nothing too bad but I thought you’d want to know so you know what to expect.”

“Thanks Luna, I’ll keep that in mind, Mako has been asleep for a few hours now so I’ll wake her soon to check her arm and see how she’s feeling.”

“Let us know if anything changes, no matter what time it is.”

“Will do; bye Luna, bye Usagi.” Flipping her communicator closed, Minako took a moment and took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She was worried about Mako and she knew she couldn’t let her see that. Walking into the kitchen Minako got a bottle of water out of the fridge and took it into the bedroom, sitting it down on the bedside table.

Removing the face washer from Mako’s forehead, Minako gave the girl’s face a quick wipe down before she put it back into the bathroom. Sitting down on the bed, Minako could tell that Mako wasn’t having pleasant dreams. Gently placing a hand on the girl’s side, Minako gently woke her up, brushing the loose hair out of Mako’s face.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Minako softly asked as she helped Mako to sit up.

“Pretty crap,” Mako replied, hugging her knees close to her. “I had a nightmare which seemed so real, I can’t shake it.”

“Do you want to tell me what it was about?” Minako asked, unscrewing the lid off the water bottle and handing it to Mako.

Taking a sip from the water bottle, Mako swallowed and looked into Minako’s blue eyes. “I dreamed that we were fighting some bad guy and we were both wrapped up tightly in vines and we couldn’t get out. They felt really tight, kind of suffocating, and the entire room was black and we couldn’t do anything but let the vines constrict around us. Our powers wouldn’t work and I felt helpless, then I couldn’t see you anymore and I started to panic.” 

“It was only a nightmare Mako, I’m right here safe and sound and so are you. It’s just the Vash enzyme running through your system. Most of the nightmares, weakness, and clamminess should start to go away in about seven or eight hours.” Taking the water bottle off Mako, Minako put it back down and slid up next to Mako.

Wrapping an arm around Mako, Minako felt the girl rest her head on her shoulder. Placing a gentle kiss on her head, Minako reached for Mako’s hand and intertwined their fingers together. “I promise you I’m not going anywhere until you feel better.”

“Okay, I would like that,” Mako simply replied, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of being held by Minako. No matter how bad she felt, having Minako there with her made her feel like everything was going to be okay.

“It’s almost dinner time and I don’t feel like cooking so what should we order in? And before you protest you need to eat something to keep your strength up,” Minako said, knowing that neither of them were up to cooking.

“I think I could eat some plain wonton soup, I’m not really feeling very hungry,” Mako replied, not moving her head off Minako’s shoulder.

“As long as you feel like you can eat it, we’ll get it for you.” Closing her eyes and leaning her head against Mako’s, Minako let herself relax for a moment as she enjoyed the feel of the girl next to her.

“What do you think you’re going to get?” Mako asked, enjoying the feel of Minako close to her as the girl shifted so their thighs were now touching, it kind of brought the feeling of butterflies to her stomach even while she felt as bad as she did.

“I think I will get a chow mein, I’m not really craving anything in particular,” Minako replied, grabbing her phone and calling the local noodle shop. Placing their order, she gave their address and hung up. “Food should be here in about thirty minutes.”

“We should probably head into the living room, I don’t think eating soup in bed would go well,” Mako said, slowly getting out of bed. Standing up, she reached out and held onto Minako, her head spinning as her blood suddenly rushed from her head.

“Are the side effects getting worse?” Minako asked, concerned that something bad was going to happen. 

“No, I don’t think so,” Mako replied, waiting a few seconds before she headed to the couch. 

“From earlier to now, has anything changed?” Minako asked, still worried, unable to shake the feeling of something going wrong.

“I don’t really think so, my head just isn’t spinning as much and the pain in my arm has lessened,” Mako responded, watching as Minako moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her.

Taking hold of Mako’s left arm, Minako examined the bandaged area. The bandage was still white with no blood on it; slipping a finger underneath it, Minako checked to make sure it was still loose enough and not cutting off any circulation. “It looks good so far but we should probably check it out a little better later on.”

“And change the dressing like Luna suggested, I don’t really want to deal with an infection on top of not being able to help fight bad guys for the next week,” Mako said, still not wanting to accept she wouldn’t be able to transform.

“You’ll be back on your feet before you know it, for now we need to keep you well rested and hydrated and while on that topic, I’ll go get us some water.” Getting up, Minako headed into the kitchen and pulled two cold bottles of water out of the fridge. Handing one to Mako, she placed hers on the table and went back into the kitchen and grabbed some chopsticks and spoons for their dinner when it arrived.

Hearing a knock at the front door almost half an hour after they called, Minako motioned for Mako to stay seated while she answered the door. Smiling at the woman on the other side Minako took the food from the delivery driver and handed over the money for their order. Thanking the lady Minako watched as she walked away, heading down the stairs. Closing the door and locking it, she smiled at Mako and unpacked their food, placing it on the coffee table.

“This smells really good,” Mako said as she took the lid of her soup.

“It does,” Minako agreed as she took a mouthful of food, not waiting for it to cool down as she was hungry.

Grabbing the television remote off the table, Mako turned the television on and flicked through the channels looking for something to watch. After a few minutes of channel surfing and realising that nothing was on, she gave up and left it on the news channel to see what was happening with the rest of the world. Secretly she was hoping something would come up about the Vash that attacked them.

Listening to the monotonic voice coming out of the television as images flashed on the screen, they both ate in silence, lost in their thoughts. Glancing between each other and the television, they let the silence linger as they didn’t know what to say.

Taking a mouthful of chow mein, Minako couldn’t shake the feeling of unease she felt as it hit her again. Looking over to Mako, Minako watched her for a few seconds to make sure she was okay before looking out the large window, watching the moon shine in the darkness. There was something she couldn’t quite place that was wrong, something her instincts were telling her to be wary of. Pushing her feelings aside, she looked up at Mako who had just said something she didn’t catch. “Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts.”

“I figured as much, I asked what you wanted to do for the night,” Mako repeated, shoving a wonton into her mouth.

“I don’t really know, I just have a bad feeling I can’t shake and it’s occupying my mind,” Minako honestly replied, wanting to see if Mako was feeling anything different.

“Is it a gut feeling, a bad guy feeling, a be-on-the-lookout feeling, or something different?” Mako asked, trying to help Minako out.

“It’s kind of all of them rolled into one. I still feel like something isn’t right about the Vash that attacked us, it couldn’t have just disappeared without a trace, I feel it’s still out there,” Minako said, knowing that Mako would understand where she was coming from.

“I find it unsettling too that it didn’t leave a trace, hopefully Luna and Artemis can find out some more information at control. Did Luna end up taking the vial with her that had the barb in it?” Looking around her apartment, Mako tried to see if she could spot it.

“Luna didn’t, I put it in the kitchen so I could take it to her later if needed and I didn’t really think we needed it on display.” Putting down her chopsticks, Minako got up and went to the kitchen, picking up the vial. “Um, I think we should take this to Luna as soon as we can. The bottom of the vial is starting to fill with a yellow liquid and it definitely wasn’t there when we pulled it out of you.”

“We should not have that here, if something goes wrong we have no idea what will happen. I think I have enough strength to make it to the arcade, the soup kind of helped to lift my energy levels a little,” Mako replied, taking a sip of the soup.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave the apartment but I don’t want to leave you by yourself, especially since you have that enzyme running through you.” Sitting back down on the couch with the vial in her hand, Minako tried to think of what to do.

“Mina, I’ll be fine, you don’t need to worry about me,” Mako said, reaching out and holding Minako’s hands in her own.

“I do worry about you, if I leave the only thing on my mind will be if you’re okay or not. You are also too weak to leave and I don’t want to push you, you may think you’re up for it but I can tell you’re not.” Getting up from the couch, Minako paced back and forth while trying to get her emotions and thoughts in check.

Noticing Mako get up from the couch and swaying backward, Minako rushed over to her and held onto her, trying to steady her.

“I don’t feel too good,” Mako softly said as the colour drained from her face and she passed out in Minako’s arms.


End file.
